An hour later, Kushina curled up in Gento's embrace.
Her eyes were closed, her cheek pressed against his chest as she listened to his steady heartbeat, a satisfied smile hanging at the corner of her lips.
A strand of pink aura drifted out from her body, spun once through the air, and was absorbed into the Lust Gourd.
Gento lowered his head to glance at the gourd, smiled, and kissed her forehead.
As long as it continuously absorbed energy over time, the Lust Gourd would eventually gather enough Lust Points and transform them into Lust Pills!
...
In the days that followed, Rin settled into life within Gento's imperial residence.
With Kushina deliberately taking care of her, she adapted to living there in no time.
The two women spent nearly every day together.
When Kushina looked after the baby, Rin helped carry Hanyu and lull him to sleep.
The little guy quickly became familiar with Rin as well. Every time he saw her, he would stretch out his tiny hands asking to be held while giggling nonstop.
Occasionally, when Gento's lust flared up, he would deliberately find an excuse to send Rin away before pouncing on Kushina like a beast.
Rin had already grown used to it. Each time, she obediently carried Hanyu around the courtyard.
Even though she had long become accustomed to it, every time she heard the sounds coming from the bedroom, her heartbeat still accelerated uncontrollably.
Something inside her body stirred.
Her gaze would unconsciously drift toward some corner of the courtyard, yet her mind would be filled entirely with those sounds.
There was an itchy feeling in her heart, impossible to clearly describe, like feathers brushing against it.
...
That day, Gento sat in the clan head's office reading the latest intelligence reports from the Hidden Leaf battlefield.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open.
Itachi walked in.
Wearing an Anbu uniform, he carried a person over his shoulder as though hauling a sack of rice.
Bang!
The man was casually tossed onto the floor by Itachi.
The man hit the ground heavily with a muffled groan, curling up into a ball.
He wore ordinary merchant clothing, his outfit covered in dust.
"Clan Head, we captured a spy from another village."
Gento raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
Normally, every ninja village did send spies into other villages to gather intelligence.
But now, all the major ninja villages of the shinobi world were busy participating in the current war; they should not have any spare energy for something like this.
He was also curious which village was foolish enough to still send spies into Hidden Gento Village after the Uchiha had repelled Hidden Cloud and displayed such overwhelming strength.
Gento stepped forward, activating his Sharingan.
"Yin Release: Mind Rift Gate!"
The spy, who had originally looked terrified, became vacant and dull-eyed in an instant, standing stiffly like a puppet.
Gento immediately questioned him about his origins.
To Gento's surprise, this person did not come from any major ninja village, but from Hidden Grass Village.
"What is your purpose in coming to Hidden Gento Village?"
The spy answered mechanically, his voice completely flat.
"Lord Mui, the warden of Hozuki Castle, sent me to gather information regarding the recently captured Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii."
"Lord Mui wishes to know her detailed condition, including her place of imprisonment, seal status, and security forces…"
"Hozuki Castle?"
Gento raised an eyebrow.
The so-called Hozuki Castle was an isolated island far out at sea.
In order to imprison unforgivable criminals, the nations had pooled resources to build Hozuki Castle upon this remote island and entrusted Hidden Grass Village with managing it, specifically for holding ninja criminals sentenced to severe punishment.
Those imprisoned inside were all people who had committed grave sins, yet for various reasons could not be executed immediately.
The warden of Hozuki Castle possessed the Fire Release: Celestial Prison, allowing him to place seals upon prisoners that restricted their chakra.
Without chakra, ninja could not escape from this isolated island surrounded by violent whirlpools.
No matter how powerful a ninja was, they could only submit to the warden of Hozuki Castle.
The spy continued speaking.
"Lord Mui possesses the legendary sacred artifact: the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
"As long as it absorbs enough chakra, this sacred artifact can grant any wish."
"Lord Mui sent me to gather information because he has set his sights on the immense chakra of the Two-Tails."
Gento nearly laughed upon hearing this.
As someone familiar with the original story, he naturally knew that the so-called "granting any wish" was merely a lie.
Inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss was nothing more than a monster.
A terrifying creature capable of reading hearts and altering its form.
Mui had been blinded by its power, unaware that it was merely a trap used by the monster to lure prey.
Gento had no interest in the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Instead, this Hozuki Castle itself attracted his interest.
He still possessed a Divine Tree seed and had yet to find a suitable location to plant it.
Now, wasn't Hozuki Castle the perfect place?
First, Hozuki Castle was an isolated island surrounded by vast seas.
And on this planet, the oceans occupied the overwhelming majority of the landmass.
Even if the Divine Tree needed to absorb surrounding life energy, the immense ocean could provide abundant nourishment for its roots.
Second, the island was far removed from the mainland. Even if he planted something as legendary as the Divine Tree there, it would not attract the attention of the other ninja villages.
Furthermore, the Uchiha could directly seize control of Hozuki Castle.
As a famous prison throughout the shinobi world, it certainly would never lack prisoners.
The Divine Tree's growth could not do without feeding on living humans.
Whenever a prisoner needed to be executed, they could simply be thrown to the Divine Tree as nourishment.
It was truly killing multiple birds with one stone.
Gento withdrew his thoughts and gave an order to Itachi beside him.
"Go find Shisui at once. Bring enough Anbu with you, and together with this spy, go have a talk with the higher-ups of Hidden Grass Village."
"I want them to transfer management rights of Hozuki Castle to the Uchiha."
Itachi nodded.
"Yes!"
He glanced at the spy, who was still trapped within the genjutsu, then lifted him up like a chick before turning and leaving.
...
Eight days later.
Shisui returned to Hidden Gento Village together with Itachi.
Inside the clan head's office, Shisui knelt on one knee.
"Clan Head, we have successfully obtained management rights over Hozuki Castle."
"Other than the leader of Hidden Grass Village recently falling ill and dying…"
"All of the other higher-ups were quite cooperative and agreed very readily."
"One hundred Uchiha Anbu have successfully taken control of Hozuki Castle while the former warden, Mui, and his subordinates have been sent back to Hidden Grass Village."
Hearing this, Gento nodded in satisfaction.
He did not ask Shisui exactly how it had been accomplished.
As someone in power, the only thing he cared about was the result.
"Well done."
Gento stood up.
"Let's go. We'll take a look at Hozuki Castle."
...
Hozuki Castle was located on an isolated island several hundred nautical miles east of the Land of Fire.
The seawater surrounding the island displayed an eerie deep-blue color, with undercurrents surging and whirlpools densely packed throughout.
Only after landing on the island did Gento truly see the prison's full appearance.
The core structure of Hozuki Castle was an enormous fortress.
The entire structure was built from massive black stone blocks, its walls towering dozens of meters high, their surfaces covered in traces left behind by years of wind and waves.
Tall watchtowers surrounded the fortress.
Upon the castle walls, an Uchiha Anbu stood guard every few steps.
The moment they saw Gento, they all saluted.
"Sir!"
---
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